| Senior Leadership Team |
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 Patricia
Ann Ritter, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Executive Director
After serving as Assistant Executive Director for 18 years,
Dr. Pat Ritter was named Executive Director of TLC-The
Treatment & Learning Centers in February 2009. During her
tenure, Dr. Ritter has served as a vital member of TLC's
management decision-making team, and her key achievements
include creating with a colleague the philosophy, model,
staffing pattern and administration policy for the Katherine
Thomas K-5 special education school which has grown to a
full high school program, developing
sought after therapeutic groups for children with sensory
processing and autistic spectrum disorders, and developing a
highly regarded special education preschool program based on
the DIR®/ Floortime Model™ for early intervention.
As Executive
Director of TLC-The Treatment and Learning Centers, Dr.
Ritter leads a
12 million organization with 200+ staff at three locations
offering multiple programs including The Outpatient
Services, The Katherine Thomas School and The Early Learning
Center. In this role Dr. Ritter also oversees the
development, fundraising and marketing efforts of the
organization and works with TLC’s voluntary Board of
Trustees as well as being the primary staff liaison for
TLC’s Consumer Advisory Board and Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Ritter is
responsible for overall program quality throughout the
organization, including the organization’s budget,
recruitment and retention, staff supervision, program
quality improvement and outcomes measures, consistently
resulting in outstanding consumer satisfaction
survey ratings. Dr. Ritter was elected a Fellow of the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 2008, one of
the association’s highest honors. She is a graduate of
Leadership Montgomery Class of 2008 and is active on
numerous professional and community boards as well as a
frequent presenter to many organizations.
Dr. Ritter
received her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology with a
specialty in Child and Adult Language and Second Language
Learning from Ohio University. Her three decades as a
speech-language pathologist have enabled her to bring a wide
and diverse breadth of experience to TLC, but most
importantly, Dr. Ritter has been allowed to fulfill her
personal goal of making a difference in the lives of others.
(back to top)
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 Suellyn
Sherwood
Chief Financial Officer
Suellyn Sherwood, Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for
the planning, organization, and management of TLC The
Learning and Treatment Centers financial operations and Human
Resources function. In this role, Sherwood implements short
and long-range financial plans, policies, and programs of TLC.
She assures all financial records and reports are accurately
presented on time, and interprets financial statements for the
Executive Director, Board, and staff. Sherwood additionally
prepares the annual budget with the Executive team; and
prepares for the annual certified audit report.
She has over 25 years of auditing and accounting experience,
in non-profit organizations as well as corporate and
healthcare sectors. This multi-faceted work has taken place
throughout the Greater DC Metro area; and is marked by a
sequential growth in management and accounting responsibility.
Sherwoods extensive experience has allowed a smooth progress
into her role as Chief Financial Officer at TLC- The Treatment
and Learning Centers.
Suellyn Sherwood earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Accounting and Business
Administration at Thiel College, in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
She further attained her
State of Maryland License as a Certified Public Accountant in
May of 1989.(back to top)
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 Rhona
Schwartz
High School Director, TLC's Katherine Thomas School
Rhona Schwartz, High School Director at TLC's Katherine Thomas
School, is directly responsible for all facets of the high
school program since 2004, including administration, hiring and
supervising staff, overseeing admissions and outplacement,
maintaining state licensure and certifications requirements,
program planning and curriculum development and preparing
annual budgets. She also develops collaborative relationships
with funding sources, institutions of higher education, and
other community organizations and agencies to maintain a high
quality program.
As an administrator and a classroom teacher, she has more than
25 years of experience working with children and adolescents
with learning disabilities. Before joining KTS, Mrs. Schwartz
spent over eight years as the Assistant Head of the high
school at The Lab School of Washington. In this position she
supervised 40 teaching staff and curriculum for over 130
students. Ms. Schwartz left the
high school to become the Director of Tutoring, where she
supervised 75 active tutors, planned and implemented staff
training, managed the annual budget, established partnerships
with other institutions and conducted educational workshops.
Mrs. Schwartz received an M.A. in special education from
Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in youth and
community studies/sociology from State University of New York
at Stony Brook University. (back to top)
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Cathleen M. Burgess
Lower/Middle School Director, The Katherine Thomas School
Cathy joins KTS as an experienced leader, devoted educator
and speech-language pathologist. With over 30 years of
experience in both educating and providing services to
individuals with disabilities, she brings a strong commitment
and dedication to enhancing and enriching the lives and
education of these individuals and their families.
Cathy has spent most of her career working within school
districts as a clinician, educator, mediator and consultant.
As a passionate proponent for individualizing education to
meet the specific needs of a child, she brings a strong
understanding of the IEP process, the value of a team approach
and the knowledge and tools necessary to adapt curriculum to
meet different learning styles. She has served on numerous
committees and task forces to develop and implement functional
learner outcome measures, as well as to expand and advance
appropriate developmental curriculums for students in
pre-school through high school.
Burgess comes to KTS
from The George Washington University (Washington D.C.) where
she was Autism Clinical Supervisor and Adjunct Professor,
providing education, training and clinical supervision and
research assistance to graduate and undergraduate students
working with children and adults on the Autism spectrum. She
served as a Task Force member of George Washington University
Autism Research Center Initiative.
Ms. Burgess earned
a Master of Education in Speech Pathology from Northeastern
University in Boston, Massachusetts. She also has a Bachelor
of Arts in Speech and Theatre from Western Connecticut State
College in Danbury, Connecticut. She holds certification in
Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Hearing-Language
Association and is licensed as a speech-language pathologist
in Washington D.C., and Maine.
She has served as a
professional speech-language delegate to Australia, New
Zealand, Honduras; and consulted with rural health programs
and schools in El Salvador.
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 Kelly
L. King
Director, The Early Learning CenterMs. King,
Director of TLC's Early Learning Center, is responsible for
staff supervision, training and evaluation. In addition, she
is responsible for ensuring developmentally-appropriate
practices and that curriculum is implemented as outlined by
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Before joining TLC, Ms. King was a full-time teacher at the
Quality Care Child Development Center in Hickory, NC, and a
co-teacher at the Tutor Time Learning Center in Durham, NC.
Ms. King received her B.A. in elementary education from
Lenior-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. She also received infant
and toddler certification from the Montgomery County Child
Care Association (MCCA) and the 90-hour certification through
Montgomery College.
(back to top)
 Janet Graves-Wright, MSEd,
CCC-SLP
Director of Outpatient Services
Janet
Graves-Wright brings a unique perspective to the field of
learning disabilities. She has experienced many facets of this
field, from her work as a therapist and educator to that as a
clinical researcher, an administrator, and an advocate for
people with disabilities. As Director of Outpatient Services,
Janet Graves-Wright oversees TLC’s Family Hearing Center, the
Testing and Tutoring Service, and the Outpatient Occupational
Therapy and Speech-Language Services.
Ms. Graves-Wright
earned a Master of Science in Education in Speech-Language
Pathology from Nazareth College of Rochester and a Master of
Music in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman
School of Music of the University of Rochester. She also
received a B.A. in Spanish from California State University,
Chico, and completed doctoral coursework in Speech and Hearing
Science at City University of New York. Graves-Wright holds
the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the
American Speech-Hearing-Language Association and is licensed
as a speech-language pathologist in Maryland and New York.
(back to top)
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